This is painful to watch, especially the naïve exposition for the (presumably) computer illiterate audience. Hilarious, but painful.posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:48 PM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

FaceUnion! I knew as soon as I saw the title, "they gotta have the fake SVU Facebook... what was it, FacePlace?". That's the one where the Asian computer tech is like "the rapist just logged on to FaceUnion from a cafe on 120th street!", because that can totally happen in real life. And "Another Universe", which pretty much nailed the user base of the real Second Life.posted by DecemberBoy at 7:48 PM on April 18, 2013

watching the law&order one kind of makes me nauseated.posted by FirstMateKate at 7:50 PM on April 18, 2013

also, the law&order one is mostly SVU, so it's like NSFW some (most) times.posted by FirstMateKate at 7:50 PM on April 18, 2013

What was the fake Grand Theft Auto game called in that one episode? You know, the one where Stabler's talking to his kid and learns about the latest Dangerous Teen Trend, and mutters something about kids these days to Benson? That should narrow it down. (I love SVU!)posted by usonian at 8:02 PM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

FaceUnion! I knew as soon as I saw the title, "they gotta have the fake SVU Facebook... what was it, FacePlace?". That's the one where the Asian computer tech is like "the rapist just logged on to FaceUnion from a cafe on 120th street!", because that can totally happen in real life.

Isn't that how they caught the YouTube murderer IRL? Most people's posts are automatically tagged with their location and you can easily used Facebook's API to find out where people are. That doesn't count intentional check-ins.posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 8:07 PM on April 18, 2013

Isn't that how they caught the YouTube murderer IRL? Most people's posts are automatically tagged with their location and you can easily used Facebook's API to find out where people are. That doesn't count intentional check-ins.

You can find out what city they're in. You could narrow it down to a real location if you found out where the guy posted from, then subpoenaed the place's ISP once you found out what that is for what IPs were assigned to whom. On SVU, the tech will just bring up a map grid, and a dot will blip saying "RAPIST POSTING FROM INTERNET CAFE ON 125TH ST. RIGHT NOW".posted by DecemberBoy at 8:10 PM on April 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

In one of last season's SVU episodes some random tech drone said something about "onion protocols" and it was so close to a real thing it really took me out of the moment.posted by Lorin at 8:47 PM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

My favorite was MyFace, the famous Facebook-Myspace hybrid.posted by miyabo at 8:47 PM on April 18, 2013

I remember reading that the writers for one of these shows, I think it was NCIS, deliberately fuck up the computer jargon and do things wrong because it drives people so nuts.posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:38 PM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I'm glad they included The IT Crowd, but I love all the facebook variations.

You can find out what city they're in. You could narrow it down to a real location if you found out where the guy posted from, then subpoenaed the place's ISP once you found out what that is for what IPs were assigned to whom.

Huh? Maybe they've tightened up the privacy settings but as of last year you could use the API to get a list of posts at a certain location, at least down to suburb level and usually much closer than that. Especially when people post from mobiles or intentionaly check in. Same goes for Instagram.posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 1:12 AM on April 19, 2013

I wish I could be the web designer for Law and Order, just sitting around making terrible site designs.posted by azarbayejani at 7:01 AM on April 19, 2013 [2 favorites]

I wish I could be the web designer for Law and Order, just sitting around making terrible site designs.

I like how sometimes they'll load a webpage, and the window will appear big for a split second as it opens, and it'll make a blip like noise.

I remember reading that the writers for one of these shows, I think it was NCIS, deliberately fuck up the computer jargon and do things wrong because it drives people so nuts.

Oh I see! Good one writers! Ha ha! Of course it's okay, I'm just a "nerd," I don't count as a real person! And who needs suspension of disbelief anyway!

Oh, you guys! Now I don't feel so bad about thinking your entire blighted genre is a fucking waste of airtime that's directly responsible for the decline of broadcast television and I would never ever think of watching. Oops! Looks like I've been "driven nuts!" It's a good thing my opinion doesn't count, g'huck!posted by JHarris at 10:24 AM on April 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Huh? Maybe they've tightened up the privacy settings but as of last year you could use the API to get a list of posts at a certain location, at least down to suburb level and usually much closer than that. Especially when people post from mobiles or intentionaly check in. Same goes for Instagram.

Never used the Facebook API, what I said would just be how you would track someone if you had the IP address they posted from. I'm sure their API has more fine-grained controls.posted by DecemberBoy at 9:47 PM on April 19, 2013

Yes, in Norway, where I'm from, the milt (the organ, not the actual semen of the fish) is eaten fried. It's quite delicious. But Milter is something different.posted by Joakim Ziegler at 9:12 PM on April 20, 2013

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